


She's A Rebel

by geckoholic



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 10:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3526451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/pseuds/geckoholic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SHIELD may have fallen, but the women who have carried it on their shoulders are still standing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's A Rebel

**Author's Note:**

> Speed challenge flashfic written for the prompt 'the jury finds the defendant...'. Which I, errr, interpreted freely and then also promptly deviated from. Ah well. It's in there, I swear. 
> 
> Beta-read by andibeth82, thank you! ♥ All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title is from "She's A Rebel" by Green Day.

For most of SHIELD, everything changed when the Triskelion fell. Natasha and Clint already had their lives upended when they made the news over New York, and Steve... well, Steve probably hasn't had a normal since the forties. 

Even before her past became public knowledge, Natasha herself became _public_. She was pushed into the light of day, after what felt like a lifetime spent in the shadows. She had been used to not existing – literally at first, in the Red Room, where she hadn't been allowed to be a person, and then, later, as part of her work at SHIELD. During the months following New York, that light, strange and alarming as it was, actually warmed her: saving the world, it turns out, inspires more gratitude than it does questions. No one much cared for where she came from – all they cared for was what she had _done_ there, in the spotlight, what she had helped achieve. For Halloween that year, there were children dressed up as _Avengers_ , aiming to be heroes, not monsters. 

But that was then. Public interest has no allegiances. Now, she's the part of an organization that's seen as a threat to the safety of everyone, everywhere. That showed them how it doesn't take aliens and gods to destroy the status quo. Her achievements are forgotten, and everyone with an internet connection can read up on her sins. People on the street look at her not with gratitude, but fear and disgust. She's stopped being their hero and she’s gone right back to being one of the monsters. 

Then again, they never really knew her in the first place. For a long time, Natasha Romanov has been exactly who she chose to be, not who the rest of the world thinks she is. 

 

***

 

In some ways, Skye may have an easier time switching from SHIELD-the-behemoth-multinational-spy-network to SHIELD-the-guerrilla-group-operating-from-a-hidden-bunker than anyone around her. There's May and Coulson, to whom the former has been home for most of their lives. There's Trip, who was raised on the ideals it was built on; it's practically part of his heritage. For Fitz and Simmons, it was probably less an ideology and more of a career choice, but even they are reeling. 

And sure, Skye's upset too. Upset that she's been lied to, that one of her friends has betrayed them all and can't even see he fell to the wrong side. But she doesn't mourn SHIELD the way everyone else does. What mattered the most about it to her, still remains: the family she's found here. If anything, they're more close-knit than ever. 

Skye's not fighting to regain something she lost. She's trying to help the people she loves find something akin to what was lost to them, and in a way, that may make her the most dedicated agent this new SHIELD's got right now. 

 

***

 

Maria Hill is a good liar. Wait, scratch that – she's a _fantastic_ liar. Which is a bit of a contradiction, because she hates lying almost as much as being lied _to_. She has never been the kind to buy into white lies or expect anyone to sugar coat the truth, no matter how much it would hurt. That's the secret to working with Maria: always give it to her straight, don't pussyfoot, and you're golden. It's also the source of her reputation as a hardass: she treats people the way she wants to be treated, and not everyone's got the spoons to deal with that. 

It's an approach that worked out well for her at SHIELD, but at Stark Industries? Not so much. She makes it a week until Pepper takes her aside and informs her that she might want to try and blend in better. Make nice. Convince people she's not the enemy. Because that's what SHIELD is now: everyone's most convenient enemy. The new bogeyman. 

But that's okay. Maria may not like lying, but she's excellent at it. A survival skill of hers that predates SHIELD, really – all it'll need is a little polishing, and she doesn't plan on staying with SI for too long anyway. 

She didn't give her soul to an organization, a shiny surface with a billion dollar budget and spiffy uniforms. She gave it to an idea, and that idea isn't dead yet. 

 

***

 

At the end of the day, the kind of work Bobbi does hasn't changed too much since SHIELD fell. Sure, it's more comfortable under the umbrella of such a huge, highly developed organization, but undercover is undercover. Things can go south on a moment's notice either way, and whether there's hundreds of agents available to pull her out or a mere handful doesn't matter when she's all alone behind enemy lines. 

No, the work is the same. What's different now is that she's not sure she'll be out of the maze when she's out of the assignment. It used to be clean-cut, black and white; she spies on the bad guys and goes back to the good guys when the job is done. Now all the lines are smudged, and everyone is just different shades of gray. 

Once she realized that, siding with Mack's plans hadn't been all that scary a thought anymore. She's not turning on anyone. She's just trying to find a new set of lines.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [With A Cause (the Loyalty Is Earned remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4494210) by [tielan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/pseuds/tielan)




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